Rigoberta Menchu

I resolutely believe that respect for diversity is a fundamental pillar in the eradication of racism, xenophobia and intolerance. There is no…

— Rigoberta Menchu

This is why Indians are thought to be stupid. They can't think, they don't know anything, they say. But we have hidden…

— Rigoberta Menchu

In Guatemala, the gap between rich and poor must be eliminated, or we will continue to be the example of conflict in…

— Rigoberta Menchu

The priests say the new dawn will be like the rain that fertilizes the soil before we begin to plant our corn.…

— Rigoberta Menchu

unless a religion springs from within the people themselves, it is a weapon of the system.

— Rigoberta Menchu

The culture of death is imposed by economic and political interests, the arrogance of power, corruption. I blame the first world for…

— Rigoberta Menchu

“Este mundo no va a cambiar a menos que estemos dispuestos a cambiar nosotros mismos”

— Rigoberta Menchú

For me, to celebrate the twelfth of October is the absolute expression of triumphism, occupation and presumptuousness, and I think that history…

— Rigoberta Menchu

I wasn't the only orphan in Guatemala. There are many others, and it's not my grief alone, it's the grief of a…

— Rigoberta Menchu

... our reality teaches us that, as Christians, we must create a Church of the poor, that we don't need a Church…

— Rigoberta Menchu

There is not one world for man and one for animals, they are part of the same one and lead parallel lives.

— Rigoberta Menchu

Let there be freedom for the Indians, wherever they may be in the American Continent or elsewhere in the world, because while…

— Rigoberta Menchu

...instead of giving a rifle to somebody, build a school; instead of giving a rifle, build a community with adequate services. Instead…

— Rigoberta Menchu

... only those of us who carry our cause in our hearts are willing to run the risks.

— Rigoberta Menchu

I think that nonviolence is one way of saying that there are other ways to solve problems, not only through weapons and…

— Rigoberta Menchu

It is said that our indigenous ancestors, Mayas and Aztecs, made human sacrifices to their gods. It occurs to me to ask:…

— Rigoberta Menchu

Peace cannot exist without justice, justice cannot exist without fairness, fairness cannot exist without development, development cannot exist without democracy, democracy cannot…

— Rigoberta Menchu

I wish that a conscious sense of peace and a feeling of human solidarity would develop in all peoples...

— Rigoberta Menchu

The indigenous peoples never had, and still do not have, the place that they should have occupied in the progress and benefits…

— Rigoberta Menchu

No less characteristic in a democracy is social justice. This demands a solution to the frightening indexes of infant mortality, of malnutrition,…

— Rigoberta Menchu

I would get up in the morning and I would say, "How am I going to bother them today?"

— Rigoberta Menchu

In the case of my country, Guatemala, 65% of the inhabitants are indigenous. The constitution speaks of protection for the indigenous. Who…

— Rigoberta Menchu

We are not myths of the past, ruins in the jungle, or zoos. We are people and we want to be respected,…

— Rigoberta Menchu

I feel a deep emotion and pride for the honor of having been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 1992.

— Rigoberta Menchu

The inaction of the international community towards Guatemala is injustifiable. The community should play an active role with concrete measures and sanctions…

— Rigoberta Menchu